6 LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. i. 



lie Canton of Fribourg ; but in consequence of its situa- 

 tion on the extreme frontier of the Canton of Berne, it 

 was invested with the right of com-burghership, " corn- 

 bourgeoisie," with Berne. 



When, in 1530, the celebrated reformer, Farel, suc- 

 ceeded in converting the parish of Motier, the council 

 of Fribourg complained to Berne of his preaching in 

 the Vuly ; deputies were sent therefore from Berne 

 to meet at Morat together with four delegates from 

 the four principal villages of the Vuly, who concluded 

 to put the matter to vote under the direction of " Mes- 

 sieurs de Berne." 1 The reform movement received the 

 majority of votes in the four villages of the Motier 

 parish, and it has ever since been Protestant, notwith- 

 standing the fact that it belongs to a very strong and 

 uncompromising Catholic canton. 



The Vuly is situated at the extreme end of a prom- 

 ontory, surrounded by water on three sides ; on the east 

 by the Lake of Morat, on the north by the river La 

 Broye, and on the west by the Lake of Neuchatel. The 

 Seeland of Berne, comprised between Kersers, Treiten, 

 Aarberg, and Bienne, constitutes, with the lakes of 

 Morat, Neuchatel, and Bienne, a very extensive sheet 

 of water. 



As soon as the young couple had left the trying cli- 

 mate of St. Imier, with its long and very cold winter, 

 and had settled in the fine agricultural district of the 

 Vuly, with its vineyards and orchards, prosperity and 

 happiness greeted them from every direction. Four 



1 A name formerly used among the Swiss who speak the French lan- 

 guage to designate all those in authority in the Canton of Berne. 



